


the truth might be out there, but it's not here

by jackiiewrites



Category: Buzzfeed - Fandom, Buzzfeed - The Test Friends, Buzzfeed Unsolved
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Demon!Shane, Demons, Ghosts, High School AU, M/M, Slow Burn, i mean like he's a demon but it's still shane, kind of, only test friends bc of jen, ryan ready to fight shane at all times
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-11-15 19:50:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11238000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackiiewrites/pseuds/jackiiewrites
Summary: Ryan Bergara is a normal sixteen year old boy who just so happens to love the supernatural and has a knack for ghost hunting. Shane Madej is the new boy in town who just so happens to be a demon sent from Lucifer himself. Shane's mission? Stop Ryan Bergara at all costs -- or at least, try. Ryan has some evidence he has no business having, and he's getting real close to unlocking something about the devil that Lucifer doesn't want to see the light of day. Shane befriends Ryan quickly, and eventually Ryan trusts him enough to take him ghost hunting with him. But will everything be ruined when Shane starts to develop an actual attachment to Ryan? With his luck, of course it will.High School!AU adaption of that comment from Buzzfeed Unsolved. I can't remember which video, but you know the comment.





	1. Intro (Author's Note) !

**( A/N ) :** Hi guys! I'm really excited to bring this idea I've had (for about a week now), to life, and I really hope you're all going to like it! I'm gonna put my heart and soul into this, so hopefully that's portrayed within the writing. I'm almost done with Chapter 1, and then I'm going to set up an update schedule so I can start writing 2 & 3 and I know when to have them out by. This is my first time writing fanfiction every so go easy on me, please. 

That's it! See y'all on the flip side. <3 (Also, if anyone's confused about whatever comment I was talking about, I couldn't find what video it was on, but it's [**this one**](https://68.media.tumblr.com/585dff42d02c69232861ce4763d00b1f/tumblr_orapwgksgN1s7xb19o1_540.png).)


	2. Chapter 1

"Ryan --" Jen bounds up the school’s steps, Kelsey and Zach by her side. Once her dear friend doesn't answer, she tries again. " _Ryan --_ " Nothing. " **Ryan --** " How can he be _this_ distracted? Really, how? " ** _Ryan!_** " That one comes from Kelsey, who was steadily getting more and more annoyed while Jen tried to get Ryan's attention patiently; the thing was, Kelsey wasn't patient. Kelsey’s impatience works, Ryan's head snaps up from his laptop, eyes slightly narrowed and irritation clear across his face.

" _What?_ " He snaps, eyes moving from Jen, to Kelsey, then to Zach, and his face softened. Zach looked uncomfortable, and Ryan simply sighed, head moving back to Kelsey. He couldn't get mad now, not at his friends -- he knew it was his fault for ignoring them, anyway.

"Dude, what's been with you? You didn't return our calls last week and when we came to pick you up this morning, you told your mom to tell us you weren't home even though we could _clearly_ see you through the window. _Talk to us._ " Kelsey speaks out, voice suddenly lower, more subdued, with concern coating it like candy.

"Yeah, man, we're worried about you. You've never gone this long ignoring us." Jen adds, sitting herself down next to Ryan, with Kelsey taking his other side and Zach criss-cross-applesauce in front of the boy.

"We miss you, Ryan. It's not the same without you. When I say that, I mean it's harder to deal with Kelsey's snide insults. Plus, you're pretty much 90% of Jen's impulse control, and we can’t handle her as well as you do. We can't lose you." Zach explains, hands fiddling together, ever the comic relief, and for once, Ryan was more than thankful for it. He simply laughs as he listens to his friends, leaning back against the column they're all sitting in front of and combing a hand through his hair.

"Guys, I'm fine, honest, it's just -- I've been really busy with this one case, and --" The three around him groan collectively, drowning out his voice. "No, seriously, this is a big one! I know it gets annoying, but just try and support me, okay? I think there's something big here, I really do. And it's just, it's really been stressing me out because I'm trying to get everything together so I can head out and go actually _explore_ for once, and you know how scared I get of that kind of stuff, and there's no one to go with, and it'd be the biggest thing I've ever posted on my blog, and it just has to be _perf_ \--" 

Jen immediately interjects with a finger placed upon his lips, "It's cool, dude, chill. We're here for you, alright? Just...calm down. I know you love this supernatural stuff and all but it's starting to get worrying. We might need an intervention. What's it on, anyway? Why would you have to travel for it?" She tries to sneak a peek at his laptop, craning her head to see. 

Ryan shakes his head, swatting the short-haired girl's finger away and swiftly shutting the laptop, "Not telling yet, I'll show you guys when you come over after school -- _yes,_ you're coming after school, by the way, 'cause I feel like a shit friend and the least I can do is make you guys some food. Plus my mom is worried I'm like, turning into a hermit. I think she wants me to do a youth group or something." The other three laugh, nodding along with whatever Ryan was rambling on with now; they’re just happy to have their best friend back.

Ryan’s still rambling about some weird ghost show he was watching the night before when he feels an elbow jab into his side, and he lets out a startled yelp, the words, “Kelsey, you _dick!”_ tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them.

  
They’re all sitting on the steps of their school, and Kelsey points across the courtyard to the drop-off, whispering “ _Look”_. Ryan, Zach, and Jen all look, all puzzled by what they see. Sara Rubin and Ashly Perez are together, which isn’t anything new, but there’s also a fifteen foot (that’s how Ryan saw it, anyway) giant standing with them. 

Sara and Ashly had always hung out together, which made sense because they were the only two members of Buzzfeed High School’s welcome committee. The reason they were the only members? The town of Cedar Oak was tiny, barely five hundred people. Ryan, Jen, Zach, and Kelsey had known each other since they were in diapers, growing up and going through school with their classmates. Newcomers didn’t appear often; if they do, they leave within the next year or two. That’s just how it goes, and how it’s always gone. Nobody really seems to mind it. 

For some reason, though, the giant kind-of-sort-of-really takes Ryan’s breath away. He’s extremely tall (coming from someone who’s 5’9 & ¾, that’s saying something), with whispy blond hair and beautiful hazel eyes -- from what Ryan can see. He’s kinda plain, kinda gangly, but it’s in a cute way. He doesn’t realize he’s staring until hazel eyes stares back, and immediately Ryan shakes his head as if to snap himself out of his trance, feeling his cheeks get hot.

“When was the last time we got a new kid?” Zach asks offhand, studying the giant with confused but intrigued eyes. None of the group is paying enough attention to Ryan to realize he’s blushing, and he silently thanks whatever higher power there is that his friends are too distracted to notice.

Ryan and Jen both shrug, Ryan still a little too awed to talk. Fortunately, Jen does it for him, “I dunno, freshman year? Safiya Nygaard. She left in the middle of junior year, I think.” The other three nod in remembrance, now taking the form of some little huddle. 

“We should go talk to him _!_ I think he’s kinda cute.” Kelsey suggests, and Ryan feels Jen cringe a little at his side; she’s had a crush on Kelsey since they were seven, and Kelsey’s only been with boys. Jen’s still holding out hope.

“I dunno, let’s let Sara and Ashly have him for now. They don’t really get to do this whole welcome thing much, y’know? Bring him over at lunch or something.” Jen speaks quickly, words jumbled together in the beginning of her sentences before mellowing out for the last one. Ryan feels compelled to interject and say _no_ , their group was fine, they didn’t need anyone else, but he’s too curious about the beautiful boy and why he’s in Cedar Oak of all places. 

Just as he opens his mouth to speak the bell rings, signaling the start of the school day, which to him meant the beginning of a long year in hell.

The group stand together, slinging their backpacks over their shoulders. “You guys ready for another year?” Jen asks, a slight frown on her face, though there was excitement in her eyes. 

“Jen, I haven’t been ready for a year of school since I came out of the womb, and even then I was a bit iffy about it.” Zach jokes, though his face is crumpled, looking up at the sign with ‘ **BUZZFEED HIGH SCHOOL** ’ emblazoned on it in big red letters, looking like he’s eaten something sour. 

The crew laugh, and they all begin to walk through the big, plastic double doors. Ryan can’t help but look back at the giant as they do, though, and he discovers, much to his chagrin, that said giant is already looking straight at him, as if he’s studying Ryan. _Oh god._  

 _Well, this is gonna be a fun senior year,_ Ryan thinks, keeping his eyes downcast and turning back around, listening to Zach and Jen have a conversation about avocados and how they contribute to society.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi y'all! I'm so happy to finally be posting this and I hope everyone loves it just as much as I do. I know it sounds like a plain old highschool AU rn but I swear spookiness and demonness is coming soon. Remember, this is the first time I've actually made a fanfic, so leave kudos or comments to tell me how i'm doing! Stay tuned & enjoy! <3


	3. Chapter 2

Shane’s hands tighten on the steering wheel of the impala, silently cursing Lucifer for giving him such an old car; it was like he thought it was still the 1960’s up here. Given the fact that he was the only demon actually willing to do this stupid job, Shane figured he’d get a few perks;  _ That’s what happens when you work for Satan. Nothing but perks,  _ he thinks sarcastically, frown prominent on his face as he pulls into the parking lot of ‘ **BUZZFEED HIGH SCHOOL** ’ **\--** _ wow, what a stupid name,  _ he observes, a small chuckle falling past his lips as he looks at the kids crowding around the front courtyard and steps. 

Shane will admit that he’s a tad bit grateful that he was the one picked for this particular mission; then again, who wouldn’t be grateful for an opportunity to get out of hell? He’s a demon now, of course, so he’s the one that does the torturing now, but he’ll never forget those long, brutal days and nights that melded together to the point where two minutes felt like two agonizing years. All because he dabbled in a little bit of witchcraft during a hang out with some friends. 

**Shane.** The name feels weird to think of, weird to remember. He hasn’t been called Shane since he died, since he saw his parents grieving over a casket as it was lowered into the ground. He looks like his old self, good old six foot four, seventeen year old  **Shane Alexander Madej.** It’s pleasantly odd to be back in his own body again, to not look like some deformed creature anyone in their right mind would run from; to stretch his limbs, to talk in his deep but somehow still normal voice. The only downside to having a normal body again was the fact that he could  _ feel  _ the hazel-colored contacts covering the inky black of his eyes slowly disintegrating, but that was a problem for later. It was hard getting himself out of his own casket (thanks for  _ nothing,  _ Satan), but for this again, it was worth it. More worth it than he thought it would be when the big red guy told him he’d have to come up to the surface to keep watch of some sixteen year old kid with a paranormal blog. Which was  _ really  _ freakin’ weird, but when Lucifer tells you someone’s gotta be stopped, you listen to him, and do what he says.

Shane reminds himself to stop reminiscing on his old life, remembering that his humanity’s stripped, it’s not like he actually cares. He doesn’t feel like caring is a thing he can  _ do  _ anymore. He steps out of the impala, black boots making a crunching sound on the gravel beneath him. As he walks up to the school two girls come in from each side, blocking his path and making him stop in his tracks. 

Shane has to look down, given they’re both at least eight inches shorter than him, and he raises his eyebrows as he does, “Um -- hi?” He says it questioningly, voice curving up at the end.  

The one with the faded blue hair has a bright smile on her face as she looks up at him, “Hi! Sorry for stopping you, but i’m Sara Rubin, and  _ this--”  _ The girl, Sara, apparently, grabs the one with the glasses’ arm, pulling her so she’s directly next to her, “is my girlfriend, Ashly Perez. We’re the welcome committee here at Buzzfeed High, so we’ll be showing you around all day, taking you to get your schedule, showing you where your classes are, you know -- stuff like that. It’ll be fun.” Shane’s tempted to decline -- even when he was a human he wasn’t much for making new friends, but suddenly he remembers that he doesn’t  _ have  _ any pre-existing friends here, and he could use some new ones.

So he puts on an awkward, but somehow charming (or what he hopes is charming) smile, nodding his head, “Yeah, sounds cool. Uh, nice to meet you guys. I’m Shane. Shane Madej -- but I’m pretty sure you already know that, right?” Shane asks, emitting a chuckle when they both nod. “Figures. Um, so, where are we gonna start the quest of conquering this place?” He rubs his hands together, as if he’s an explorer ready to get down to business.

Ashly laughs, fixing her glasses before replying, “Alright, so,  _ usually  _ \-- stretch on usually, ‘cause our last new kid was during freshman year -- we’ll take you to the office to get your schedule, then take you to your first period, and after each period of the day we’ll walk you to class. I’m pretty sure you have classes all around campus, so we can tell you about the kind-of interesting and  **very** boring history of the Buzzfeed High bumblebees --” Shane lets out a “pfft” noise, the product of a failed attempt to hold in a bark of laughter. “ _ Yes,  _ I know, but it was chosen like, a hundred years ago. Countless campaigns to change it and it just...never leaves. Anyway, we’ll show you around, then probably hang out with you for lunch, and we’ll tell you about extracurriculars, and --” 

Shane’s listening, but he feels a pair of eyes prodding into the back of his head. He turns, locking eyes with a brown-eyed boy sitting across the courtyard. When he realizes Shane’s looking back at him, the boy turns away rapidly, cheeks flushing with blush. Shane’s also vaguely aware of the boy’s friends staring at Sara, Ashly, and him as well, but he’s more focused on the elfin boy with the cute blush. Even if a demon didn’t have feelings, they sure could appreciate an attractive human being. 

He turns back to Sara and Ashly, interrupting Sara talking about -- was she talking about  _ peanut butter cups? --  _ with his own question, “Uh, who’s that kid?” He gestures with his thumb to cute elf boy and his friends, who’re now engaged in a deep conversation that he can only guess is about him. Now that he thinks of it, most of the kids in the courtyard have stared at him for at least five seconds each, at some point in the ten or so minutes Shane has been here. 

“Wh-- _oh,_ the blonde one is Kelsey Darragh, the one with the pixie cut is Jen Ruggirello, the mousey kid is Zach Kornfeld, and the one you’re pointing at is Ryan Bergara.” Sara responds, once she realizes who he’s pointing to.  

Once the name **_Ryan Bergara_** registers in his mind he mentally kicks himself for attributing attraction to this kid. He’s the one dear old red guy (no, not Santa, though they have the same letters) sent him to distract and, essentially, stop his paranormal research. Satan told him he’s getting pretty close to the _actual_ portal to hell, and _“he is_ not _about to deal with a stupid kid falling into hell and ruining his whole business, and outing his existence when he gets back to the surface.”_ While Shane acknowledged Satan talked like a 60’s mafia boss, he agreed to come deter the boy onto a different case, figuring it would be a quick month-long thing, like the missions always were. Now he’s not so sure.  

“Well, would’ya look at that.” He mutters, a slight smirk on his face. Maybe he can have a bit of fun with the kid while he’s here, would that be so bad? Easier way to gain his trust. 

Sara and Ashly both eye him curiously for the mumbled comment, with Ashly asking, “What?” and Sara giving Ashly the should-we-even-ask-look, with Ashly shrugging in response.

“Nah, nothing. Just observing the fact that this school is  _ way  _ too big for the amount of kids in this town. It’s like the exact opposite of sardines in a can.” Shane makes it up on the spot, thankful that the familiar ringing of a school bell saves him from having to explain more. 

“Ah -- right. _Anyway,_ Buzzfeed High School was built in 1902, when Cedar Oak was first founded. Since then, there’s been a lot of expansions to accommodate the growing number of kids, as well as different programs. The office, though, where we’re going now, has been here since the beginning, when Stanely P. Rubin -- Sara’s great great grandfather -- finished building it--” Shane listens to Ashly ramble on, as if she’s got this speech down by heart -- which she probably does, eagerly awaiting a newcomer to pile it onto.  

He studies the Bergara boy’s movements, though, barely listening to the girl next to him talk. Shane studies the way he walks, his mannerisms, the way he holds the laptop against his side, wondering why he’s wearing a denim jacket in the middle of summer (even if the weather in Cedar Oak is still moderate). Bergara turns to look at him, then, immediately turning away again when he realizes Shane’s already looking at him, bright blush coating his cheeks one more time. 

Shane’s trademark smirk shapes his lip again, lopsided and acting as a brightly lit billboard with the words “I’m an asshole!” painted across it. He strolls into the school with his new friends, and the only things on his mind? Ryan Bergara and causing as much mischief in this town as he possibly can. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this was basically the events of the first chapter but from shane's perspective. we get to know who shane is, how he thinks, some stuff about his past, and most importantly, why he's here. i figured this would be good so we get to know both boys. next chapter there'll be interaction between them both and idk about you guys but i am HELLA excited. as always, leave comments and kudos ! thank you all for reading my trash <3


	4. Chapter 3

The first day of school, Ryan thinks, has sure lived up to his reputation of hell on earth. He’s fallen asleep in three out of the four classes he has before lunch, and he’s gotten caught in each one. He has Saturday detention now, for four hours. _Great_.

There was one thing that made it all better, though; cute giant boy was in all four classes with him. Shane, who’s name he had found out through Zach (who had texted Ashly and asked, then sent it to Kelsey, Ryan, and Jen in their group chat), had taken the seat next to him in english and calculus, prompting Ryan to go rigid and robot-like whenever he had to move or was called on. He could feel Shane staring at him for what seemed like the entire class period, and his eyes would flick over every few minutes or so to check if the boy was still staring -- and, of course, he was.

Ryan was tempted to turn around and ask Shane if there was something on his face, because why else would he be looking? But he figured that it would only scare the other boy away. Instead, he opted to keep his eyes on his paper or to the front of the classroom in a way that he hoped said, “ _I don’t even know you’re looking at me. This is effortless and extremely attractive._ ” In reality, it just looked like he was jittery and kind of paranoid, given Shane could see Ryan’s eyes flipping from his paper, the board, Shane himself, and back. It was predictable, like a pattern, in each class they were in.

The only exception was AP psych and AP bio, both of which Ryan decided to sit in the middle of the class. He turned every couple of minutes to talk to Zach and Kelsey, proceeded to flick his eyes to Shane (who sat in the back), and whipped his head back around. This caused Kelsey and Zach to look back to Shane with nasty side-eyes that basically said, _Fuck you, new kid, for fucking up the whole dynamic in this class._

So, that’s where Shane was with Ryan’s friends, for the time being. He didn’t mind it much, given he wasn’t here to get close to _them_ , but he soon realized that if Ryan’s friends hated him, Ryan wouldn’t be inclined to like him either.

Which brings us to the present, where Ryan, Kelsey, Jen, and Zach sit during lunch; at their respective table, of course. Not too close to the other groups, but not far enough that it’d outcast them.

Sara, Ashly, and Shane, on the other hand, are sitting far enough to outcast them into space, but still somehow just in the line of sight of other groups.

The food at Buzzfeed High School, Shane observes, is a mixture of terribly manufactured and delightfully homemade. Cornbread, mashed potatoes, some type of meat that tastes pretty good but no one knows exactly what’s in it; it’s like the weirdest mixture of public and private school food. He figures it’s only half good because there’s not many kids to feed.

“Okay, so, normally we just sit here and ignore everyone until lunch is over --” Sara begins, sipping on the straw that sticks out from her milk carton, “but you’re new, and you’re probably gonna need friends other than us, depending on how long you plan to stay here.” He doesn’t see it, but he knows Ashly’s just subtly kicked Sara under the table. Sara jumps, looking down timidly to the fork she’s using to play with her mashed potatoes, “Uh, sorry -- new people don’t stay here long. One of our best friends, Safiya, left after like two and a half years, and she’s one of the long ones. It’s not meant to be mean, it’s just...people aren’t going to expect you to stay more than a year. All of us have been here since we were born, and it’s rare to see new people. We’re barely even on the map, we don’t get much outside traffic as it is, and -- sorry, i’m rambling. Back to friends.”

Shane takes notice that Sara sounds kind of off, and his eyebrows knit together for a second, trying to figure out why she got timid all of a sudden when talking about newcomers, and why Ashly seems to think they shouldn’t talk about it at all. _That’s a question for later_ , he muses, shrugging it off. Shane doesn’t want to make them more uncomfortable than they already seem to be. He kind of needs them to complete the mission, after all.

“Ah, yeah, friends -- anyone you’d suggest? Keep in mind i’m kind of an acquired taste with some people.” he reminds them, sticking a poorly steamed green bean in his mouth, elbows propped up onto the table, “Most say that I have this whole asshole look about me, but I don’t really see it. Do you?”

Both girls across from him pause for a second, a chorus of “ _ummmmmmmmmm_ ” making him sigh.

Ashly’s the one that decides to talk, Sara still looking down at her food, trying to get as far out of this conversation as possible, “Well, I mean, yeah, kinda, i--it’s there.” Shane nods, and Ashly interjects before he can speak again, “I mean, the more we talk to you, the more we like you. But you kind of give off the whole ‘I’m confident in myself, I know what I need to do, and I won’t hesitate to cut someone to get there’, and though it’s not necessarily _asshole-ish_ , it’s intimidating, kinda standoffish. Plus, you’re tall, that contributes to it.”

Shane, admittedly, isn’t surprised with the answer, appreciating how Ashly told him upfront instead of sugar coating it; it’s not like his feelings were hurt, that’s not something he’d felt since he was alive. Overall, it just kind of made him want to chuckle. He forgot how sensitive mortals could be when they saw someone who wasn’t insecure and self-deprecating. Oh well.

“We figured Ryan and his friends could work, even though they’re all pretty close already. Ashly and I talk to Zach and Jen a lot, and Ashly’s pretty close with Kelsey and Ryan. You were asking about them earlier, right? It’ll be perfect.” Sara’s suddenly herself again, bright grin on her face and all.

Shane perks up himself, suddenly grateful he has Ashly and Sara as his friends. They’re getting him that much closer to Ryan, something he needs after he realized Ryan wasn’t going to talk to him first.

After finishing up their own lunch (complete with a conversation about their favorite movies, music genres, and types of candy), his two friends guided him to a table only a short ways away. Ashly took her seat next to Ryan, and Sara next to Kelsey. Shane, on the other hand, didn’t know where to sit, so opted to just stand at the front of the table, his lanky stature making him look as awkward as ever.

He can sense Ryan’s heartbeat speed up and his eyes flick over to the boy. Ryan’s eating his food; Shane can tell he’s having a mini heart-attack by the robotic movements and abnormally straight face Ryan has.

“So, this is Shane,” Ashly gestures to the tall boy beside her, instructing him to “ _sit down_ ” before grabbing his arm and pulling him down to sit next to her, “He’s new. Yeah, weird, I know, there’s been people looking at him in the halls the whole day. Anyway, he needs friends, and you guys are the only people -- besides us, of course -- we thought could kind of ease him into this whole ‘everyone here knows each other and has established groups already’ thing.” The girl explains, hands gently combing through her hair as she does. Her whole vibe, much like Jen, gives off _calm, cool, and collected_ , something that relaxes both Shane and Ryan.

“Like we explained earlier, that’s Kelsey--” Sara points to the blonde in question, who gives Shane a look of acknowledgement, “That’s Jen --” Onto the pixie-cut, next to Ryan, who nods up at Shane with a tiny smile, “that’s Ryan --” To the boy basically shovelling food in his mouth, and Shane is painfully aware he’s avoiding eye contact when he looks up and waves, “And, that’s Zach -- he’s the cute one.” Shane smiles at the boy in question, who beams back happily. Zach’s easier to win over than Kelsey, Shane can tell.

Shane’s hand comes up to wave gracelessly, another obviously forced, no-teeth smile, “Yeah, hi, Shane. I come from the middle of nowhere Nebraska and now I’m here to live in the middle of nowhere Oregon, I’m seventeen, I like long walks on the beach, and I’m a Taurus -- and this isn’t a dating profile, so, uh, yeah -- hi.”

Shane’s description of himself pulls a small chuckle from Jen and Zach, though Ryan is simply studying him intently, and Kelsey is just looking across to him with an arched eyebrow.

“Right, Shane, we have AP Psych and Bio together, cool. Nice to meet you. Quick question -- why were you gawking at Ryan for the entirety of class?” She punctuates her question by stabbing her fork into her salad before sticking it into her mouth.

Ryan chokes on his milk, then; it took all his might not to do a spit take. Everyone but Shane turns to him, and Jen pats him on the back as the fluid fights to spill from his mouth.

 _Oh god_ , Ryan thinks, shutting his eyes tight as he looks down at his tray and shakes his head. _This is not happening_.

Shane’s actually dumbfounded for a second, blinking at the blonde across from him a couple of times before coming up with a semi-solid answer, “I, uh -- I was looking behind him. At the person behind him.”

Ryan relaxes, then, looking back up and shoveling more food in his mouth to get away from whatever this conversation had turned into. Zach gives him an apologetic look from across the table, and Ryan silently pledges to fucking _murder_ Kelsey when lunch is done.

“Ryan sits next to the wall, you know,” Kelsey points out, sipping her water as if she had some gossip to spill, “Maybe you just think he’s cute.”

Before the conversation can go any further Ryan jumps in himself, abandoning any thought he had of eating lunch in peace, “Wow, okay, dude, I’m -- I’m sorry, Kelsey's just a teensy-bit--” He kicks Kelsey in the foot, prompting a yelp and a disgruntled face from his best friend, “--abrasive. She’s just annoyed that I wasn’t looking back as much as I did last year, ‘cause I actually want to learn this time.”

Shane laughs at Ryan’s attempt of keeping the peace, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture, “Nah, it’s fine, really. Honestly, I was looking at your hair, it’s pretty cool. Got that whole _swoosh_ to it, yanno?” He moves his hair up to imitate Ryan’s “swoosh”, instead making it seem like a tidal wave had styled his hair for him. “Me? Can’t do it. And I’m sorry -- Kelsey, right? Didn’t mean to take your friend’s attention away. I’ll try and control my staring next time.” He gives Kelsey a small wink; not one that indicates flirting, but instead a “I’ll try harder next time and I’m sorry” one that nobody found genuine.

Shane can sense the tension suddenly radiating from each person, and his demon powers -- or, as Shane likes to call it, _demon intuition_ \-- can tell him what everyone’s thinking and feeling.

Ryan’s embarrassed. His heart rate is abnormally fast, his face the color of a cherry, and his breathing is slightly jagged. Just slightly.

Kelsey’s both annoyed and intrigued. Facial and body expression tells Shane she’s suspicious of him, but wants to know more. She's not necessarily fond of him yet. 

Sara’s more amused, Ashley’s feeling more awkward. Both are extremely uncomfortable.

Jen is slightly off-put by that wink, her cool demeanor gone, and he can tell almost for certain she likes Kelsey. She’s jealous. She’s suspicious, but for entirely different reasons.

Zach’s too focused on the table a ways away from them, full of jocks, too notice the tension; he’s got complete heart eyes. Poor kid.

Jen, suddenly interested in the conversation after seeing Shane wink at Kelsey, leans on the table, drumming her fingers on it, “Hey, guys, uh, we shouldn’t just talk the whole time, right? Let’s let new kid talk. So, Shane -- what brought you to Cedar Oak?” She’s talking to Shane now, and her voice is taking on it’s normal, chill tone. Shane can sense the edge to it, though.

His shoulders raise in a shrug, “My mom needed a change of scenery. Fresh start, I guess, after my dad left.” The table suddenly gets quiet, and Shane lets out a chuckle, “Guys, it's fine. It was a while ago, and him and my mom are still close. It just didn't work out. She decided to move up here to Cedar Oak -- no offense, but I thought it was a retirement home. Like the one from Up, you know? But yeah, I’m here now. We live in the only empty house, the one on Magnolia Street.” He’s swift with the lie, words falling from his mouth in the perfect blend of awkward, sweet, and teenager-ish. Not so much like a demon who's been dead since the 1980’s.

Ryan looks up from the food he’d gone back to, a small smile on his face, “Hey, that's the one next to mine! Welcome to town, neighbor. Try not to blast your music too loud, yeah? I like my beauty sleep.” Ryan’s suddenly this confident, whimsical, _normal_ guy, and Shane’s taken aback by it. He didn't imagine that the bashful boy who he'd seen before school was someone so cool. Maybe it'd be easier to get along with him than he normally thought.

Shane grins back at him, nodding his head, and it was like a ball started rolling. The seven kids all started to pitch in on the conversation; it evolved from them talking about Shane’s stay, to Ryan’s house, to video games, to movies, to how much of a nerd Zach is --Shane loved it. It was the closest he'd gotten to friends in a long time.

The conversation eventually landed on the topic of Ryan’s house again, which prompted the raven-haired boy to ask Shane, “Hey, um, Kelsey, Jen, and Zach are coming over after school today. I was wondering if you three wanted to come?” He poses the question the Ashly, Sara, _and_ Shane, but Ashly and Sara decline with an apologetic smile.

Sara shakes her head, “Sorry, Ry, but Ashly and I are going to Rosie’s on a date after school. Maybe another time?”

Ryan nods, “No problem, I hope you guys have fun tonight.” He moves to Shane, though, a small gleam of hope in his eye, “What about you?”

Kelsey, Zach, and Jen, who've already picked up on Ryan’s quick liking to Shane, all look over, point for Ryan’s sake the boy can go.

“Yeah, totally. I'll text my mom later. She’ll be thrilled i'm actually making friends instead of holing myself up in the house.” Shane agrees, a pleased look on his face. Of course there's no mom a thing his house, but did they know that? Nope. This whole thing really was easier than he thought.

 _Wow_ , he observes, _Mortals trust way too easy._

“Ryan’s gonna tell us about his new **ooky spooky** trip on his quest to prove the paranormal. He has a blog, you know,” Zach speaks out, his voice lower than before, “he doesn't like talking about it at lunch, much, ‘cause some people can be real assholes about it, but you seem cool, so we’ll tell you anyway.”

Ryan nods, holding his laptop up for Shane to see, “Everything goes into this baby. Since you're coming after school you'll get to see _allll_ the magic at work.”

Shane snickers, feeling this is the perfect time to start bringing Ryan down, “Right -- that's cool and all, but you do know none of that stuff is real, right?”

The table gets tense, suddenly, all the others except Ryan immediately looking down to their empty trays. Even Kelsey.

Ryan scrunches his eyes together, looking at Shane in disbelief, “What do you mean it's not real? Have you not seen and heard all the footage and eyewitness accounts? Too many people have seen and believe in the paranormal for it to **not** be real. Way too many.”

Shane nods in what seems like acknowledgement, but shakes his head in doubt a second later, “Nah, still not buying it. People lie when they know it'll get them money, some people are just hallucinating, and others like to hop on the bandwagon. The “evidence” is poor, grainy footage and terrible audio. It barely even _counts_ as evidence.”

Ryan looks extremely offended at that, maybe even a little hurt, but the bell rings before he can get out anymore words. The rest of the group throws their trash away and stacks their trays silently, hoping to fade into nothingness.

Shane can feel his hazel contacts dissolving, and he knows they're about to be done for, “Uh, nice chat -- I’ll see you all later, yeah?”

He makes a beeline for the bathroom, then, ignoring Ryan’s shocked face and everyone else immediately rushing to try and figure out what the hell just happened.

Shane gets into the bathroom, finally, and pulls out another box of the colored contacts, picking them out with his finger and placing them on. He hears the door open, but pays no mind to it, figuring he’ll be done quick enough the person won't notice.

Of course that's not what happens, though. It's Ryan, who followed Shane to the bathroom, planning to ask him who the fuck he thought he was to be such an ass like that.

That doesn't happen, because Ryan sees Shane putting the contacts in. One second, his eyes are that beautiful hazel Ryan wouldn't mind looking at for hours, and the next, they're **inky black** and kind of terrifying. It only lasts for a moment until Shane blinks again, he throws away the contacts packet, and his eyes are hazel in the mirror.

Ryan throws himself against the wall, trying to keep as hidden from Shane as possible. The giant’s eyes were **black**. A black abyss with the slightest tint of red that reminded him of a fire illuminating all of his worst fears. He was _horrified_ , his breathing suddenly ragged. He could hear Shane’s footsteps coming towards the door that Ryan was next to.

 _ **What was he going to do?**_ This kid was like a **demon**. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i did this all on my phone so excuse any typos, i'm sorry, i just really wanted to get something out! friendly reminder, kudos & comments sustain my life. (especially bc i wasn't as confident in this chapter) hope you all enjoyed! <3


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